


Wake Up

by handwritten (onefromanotherworld)



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, No beta we die like wwx, Not a Crossover, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 17:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onefromanotherworld/pseuds/handwritten
Summary: Mo XuanYu found a special array to bring back Wei WuXian, the day to use it has finally come.
Kudos: 3





	Wake Up

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to ask you to check you are in a good mental place before reading this. It's not graphic at all, but it's a very idolized suicide and I don't want to give anyone wrong ideas. It's just that the image of Mo XuanYu singing Wake Up from Julie and the Phantoms wouldn't leave my head, so here we are (go listen to the song, it's good). If you are not in a good mental place, please go look at some puppies wearing wigs, talk to your close ones, drink some water and remember that tomorrow is a brand new day.
> 
> The idea for this universe is that some arrays are activated through music. They are rare, but of course WWX would create one of those and it had to make its way to MXY.
> 
> Obligatory disclaimer: I do not own anything from the MDZS universe. The lyrics I used are from the show Julie and the Phantoms, property of Netflix.

Putting the final touches to the array, Mo XuanYu exhaled, satisfied with his work. It had taken him weeks to gather the courage and to practice the strokes to perfection. He took a moment to look at his design on the floor, comparing every tiny bit of it with the book in his hands. After a while, he nodded. It was perfect. All that was left to do, hopefully, was activating it.  
He turned the page and sighed. Heavens help him for once in his life. He could only hope the time he had spent analyzing the instructions had not been wasted and that this was not, in fact, a prank from the beyond by the Yiling Laozu. Or a code. Or a trick. Either way he was not planning to see a new day, but he would prefer leaving behind something to prove that his life had not been a waste.  
He read the words one last time, making sure he did know them by heart, noticing where they rose and where they paused. He had only one chance, one that he never thought he would get. He was ready.   
He placed the book down on the floor before walking with purpose to the middle of the array. For once, he thanked that his shed was so out of the way. That and the early hour should be enough to avoid being heard and stopped. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and began singing.

"Here's one thing I want you to know  
You got some place to go"

His voice came out quieter than he had intended but kept going, hoping it wouldn't affect the spell.

"Life's a test, yes, but you go toe-to-toe  
You don't give up, no, you grow"

He fought the instinct to huff amused like he tended to do whenever he read those words, they were simply too ironic. Maybe it was to give the caster a last chance to back out. Mo XuanYu had ran away from many things in his life; this one wasn't going to be one of them. 

"And you use your pain  
'Cause it makes you you  
Though I wish I could hold you through it"

He began pulling power from his core, willing it into the words.

"I know it's not the same  
You got living to do  
And I just want you to do it"

This was his wish for the one he was giving his life for. They had never met, but he had been in his mind for years now. His stories had inspired him and allowed him to keep going. There had been so much pain in his life... Mo XuanYu admired how strong Wei WuXian had been to face such hardships. More than once he had regretted not being old enough to stand by him, to be able to help back then. He had a way of helping now, even if he wouldn't be able to see if it worked. He hoped it would. He started increasing the volume, gathering all his spiritual power.

"So get up, get out, relight that spark  
You know the rest by heart"

He felt the array activate. It was working. He opened his arms, offering everything he had. 

"Wake up, wake up if it's all you do  
Look out, look inside of you  
It's not what you lost  
It's what you'll gain raising your voice in the rain"

He turned his face towards the sky, calling out for the one specific soul.

_"Wake up your dream and make it true_   
_Look out, look inside of you_   
_It's not what you lost_   
_Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark_   
_Wake up, wake up"_

He wondered for a moment if he was imagining the second voice that joined him. He felt his heart speeding up. The soul had reached out and was sharing space within him. He hadn't seen it arrive but he could feel it. He felt warm, but maybe that was just the sun rising at his back. He had timed it right.

_"Better wake those demons_   
_Just look them in the eye_   
_No reason not to try"._

He closed his eyes, trying to keep the focus.

_"Life can be a mess_   
_I won't let it cloud my mind_   
_I'll let my fingers fly"_

That wasn't his voice anymore. Except it was. Mo XuanYu felt lighter all of a sudden. Happier, listening to the promise. With three quick movements to the back of his arms, he let his blood fall.

"And I use the pain 'cause it's part of me  
 _And I'm ready to power through it_  
Gonna find the strength, find the melody  
 _'Cause you showed me how to do it"_

He smiled. The first smile in over a decade. For both of them. Mo XuanYu felt himself grow weaker, but it didn't scare him. He sent all his energy to the array, to give him strength as the words said. He had had so much pain in his life, but if there was someone who could create life from it, it was him. 

"Get up, get out, relight that spark  
You know the rest by heart"

For just a moment, it was his own voice again, calling out. Still smiling, he moved to the side so the other soul could take his place. It was done, there was no going back. Feeling more peace than ever before, he said goodbye to his body and his core and wished them good luck. The spell wasn't done yet, so he could stay for a while, hoping the rest would go as it should. Either way, he was free now.

_"Wake up, wake up if it's all you do_   
_Look out, look inside of you_   
_It's not what you lost_   
_It's what you'll gain raising your voice in the rain"_

The new voice sounded so full of emotion, so wishful. So old.

_"Wake up your dream and make it true_   
_Look out, look inside of you_   
_It's not what you lost_   
_Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark_   
_Wake up, wake up"_

He saw the body that used to be his own sing to the sky, the hint of tears behind it. It stretched out, taking as much space as it could. He didn't have a voice anymore but he liked the next part, so he joined in either way. It was a shame there wasn't a guqin nearby.

" _So_ wake _that_ spirit, _spirit_  
I _wanna_ hear _it_ , hear _it_  
No _need_ to _fear_ it, _you're not alone_  
You're _gonna_ find your _way_ , oh"

As the new voice rose, his soul finally started to dissolve happily, free of this life and any other. Mo XuanYu would not be coming back and he was fine with that. "Go find it, Wei WuXian, find the life that you deserved." He couldn't hear him, but he hoped the message reached him all the same.

_"Wake up, wake up if it's all you do_   
_Look out, look inside of you_   
_It's not what you lost_   
_It's what you'll gain raising your voice in the rain_   
_Wake up your dream and make it true_   
_Look out, look inside of you_   
_When you feel lost_   
_Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark_   
_Wake up, mm-mm, wake up..."_

In the silence that followed, Wei WuXian took a deep breath and then another before opening his eyes. He took in the small shed he was in, full of straw but little else, with just the sun to keep it warm, apparently. Looking around, his eyes fell on the red array under his feet and a familiar book to the side. He laughed without humor, crouching to pick it up. He flipped quickly through the pages, verifying his suspicions, a small frown on him. This spell had been supposed to be for you, Shijie, but here I am, yet again, taking what is yours. He wondered idly if her soul had already reincarnated. How long has it been? He never saw her where he was... then again, he never looked. He didn’t want to be found by anyone. 

  
He looked at the array yet again, amazed at how detailed it was drawn. Not rushed, at all, but careful. He never would've imagined someone would actually want to use this one instead of the one to summon a villanous ghoul. Not just for the price to pay but for the activation spell. Whoever it had been, he hoped he had been happy in the end. At least now he knew it actually worked, maybe if he could modify it enough and if it was still time, Shijie... He shook his head. Later.  
After putting the book away inside his robes, he took a look at the marks on his arms and nodded. He had been payed, now it was his turn. He could make this person's dream come true, and then start looking for one of his own. He straightened up, took another deep breath, trying to get used again to the sensation of air in his lungs, and took a step out of the array. The first one out of the dark and into his new life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you feel I'm missing some tags, please tell me. It was very difficult to tag this work.


End file.
